Gu Yue grabbed Arthur's wrist, her fingertips carrying a slightly cool touch. "Come on, let's go. Once we're done wandering around, I'll teach you all the control techniques for using elements I just used. I even have a lot of experience in how to save Soul Power."
How to save Soul Power... Arthur admitted he was a little tempted.
With his wrist being held, Arthur looked at the cheerful figure ahead and suddenly found it amusing.
Just now on the stage, her aura was fully unleashed, as if she were a ruler in control of the entire field.
At this moment, she seemed more like a little girl holding candy, asking her companion to play with her.
Arthur smiled helplessly, but his footsteps followed her lead. "Fine, then you have to keep your word."
"Don't worry!"
Gu Yue shouted without looking back, pulling him out of the academy and heading straight for a snack street near East Sea Academy.
They had just entered the street entrance.
Gu Yue pointed to a small shop with warm yellow lanterns hanging on its storefront.
"Let's go to this newly opened 'Handmade Candy Workshop' first. Their candy is the best on this street, and they have molds in all sorts of shapes."
Inside the shop, the lady boss was boiling syrup in a small pot, and the air was filled with the sweet fragrance of caramel and fruit.
Gu Yue leaned over to the counter, standing on her tiptoes and pointing at the candy pieces in a glass jar. "I want this water-ripple shape, and that strawberry-flavored star candy."
As she spoke, she took out some change from her pocket, not forgetting to instruct, "Give me two extra mint ones to cleanse the palate after eating the sweet cakes later."
Carrying the candy jar out of the shop, Gu Yue unwrapped a mint and popped it into her mouth, then handed one to Arthur. "Try it, it's cool and refreshing. That way you won't feel overwhelmed by the sweetness when we eat the sweet cakes later."
As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and pulled Arthur further into the street with a skip in her step. "Up ahead is 'Sweet Wave Shop.' Their freshly baked sweet cakes take ten minutes, so I'll go place the order first. We can use that time to check out the handmade shop next door."
"Gu Yue, you didn't visit every dessert shop on this entire street, did you?" Arthur asked tentatively, seeing how familiar she was with the area.
"Pretty much."
Gu Yue seemed to be in a good mood.
The shop counter was filled with various dessert-themed trinkets. Gu Yue immediately took a fancy to two small ceramic spoons.
The handles of the spoons were decorated with round sweet cake patterns.
She picked up the spoons to compare them and turned to ask, "How about these? We'll use them to eat the sweet cakes later."
Before Arthur could answer, she had already paid and picked one out to thrust into his hand. "Hold onto it. Use this to scoop and eat later; the spoons that shop provides aren't as easy to use as this one."
Being pulled along by the excited Gu Yue the whole time, Arthur suddenly felt that her inviting him along was just an afterthought.
Even if he hadn't agreed to come, she probably would have wandered around here by herself anyway.
When they arrived at 'Sweet Wave Shop,' the boss happened to be bringing out the freshly baked sweet cakes. The golden crust looked appetizing, and the sweet aroma wafted into their noses.
Gu Yue pulled Arthur to a seat by the window. She had noticed that whether at the elementary academy or in their current class, he always liked to sit by the window.
She couldn't wait to scoop out a large mouthful and stuff it into her mouth, huffing from the heat but refusing to spit it out, while saying unclearly, "You should try it too, it's delicious."
The two of them took turns scooping mouthfuls.
Finally, they ordered two glasses of juice.
Feeling that the time was right, Gu Yue suddenly asked, "Arthur, what do you think elements are?"
"Or rather, how do you view the various elements in the natural World?"
With a slight frown, Arthur pondered for a moment before asking in confusion, "It's a type of magical power. What do you mean by asking this?"
Just like Martial Souls, Soul Power, and Martial Soul Abilities, in Arthur's view, Elemental Power was something similar.
"If you want to use the power of the elements well, you must first understand them." Gu Yue entered teaching mode, like a teacher patiently guiding a student.
"How many elements do you think there are in this World?"
"How many elements..." Arthur counted carefully. "Wind, Water, Fire, Earth, Ice, Light, Darkness, Space..."
There were too many.
He didn't even know if some powers could be classified as elements.
"Those count as well, I suppose." Gu Yue gave a soft smile. "But in truth, there are only four that truly count as Elemental Power."
"Four?"
If anyone else had said that, Arthur would have certainly scoffed.
But the one teaching him right now was the Silver Dragon King.
He could only believe her and then learn every word.
"Those are Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire." Gu Yue's words were startling, and she was more serious than ever before. "Things like light, darkness, and space might be very strong."
"But on the path of the elements, they are nothing more than that."
"If one focuses solely on light, or darkness, or space, reaching the extreme can indeed lead to the Great Dao."
Gu Yue lightly tapped the side of the juice glass. A layer of frost coated it, and wisps of cold air spread out.
"But if one wishes to achieve something within the vast elemental system, they must focus their energy on the four elements: Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire."
"These four are the true Path to Heaven among the elements!"
Earth, Wind, Water, Fire... Arthur gripped the small spoon in his hand, looking at the frost condensed on the glass.
Gu Yue's words had indeed changed many of his perceptions regarding elements.
In existing Soul Master knowledge, there were too many classifications for elements, and light, darkness, and space were held up as rare and powerful existences.
But coming from Gu Yue's mouth, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire had actually become the true "Path to Heaven."
"Why these four?" He put down his spoon and leaned forward. "Isn't the ice element also a variant of water?"
Gu Yue's eyes lit up at his words, and she reached out to tap the frost on the glass.
With a gentle pinch of her fingertips, that tiny bit of frost melted into a water droplet in her palm, then instantly turned into mist and dispersed.
She withdrew her hand with a smile, a bit of cream from the sweet cake still on the corner of her mouth. "Ice is a change in the form of water. In reality, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire already encompass all things. Those things like light, darkness, and space are either derivatives of the four elements or powers independent of the elemental system; they don't count as Elemental Power at all."
She scooped up a bit of sweet cake but didn't eat it immediately, instead holding it in front of Arthur. "Like this sweet cake, it can be summarized by the four elements. Actually, I have a conjecture."
"The end of the path of the four elements can create all things."
"Create all things..." Arthur was truly stunned by what he heard.
"Hahaha, it's just a guess, don't take it seriously." Suddenly realizing she had spoken on too high a level, Gu Yue laughed it off. "It was just a spontaneous thought; these are just my usual fantasies."
Gu Yue truly appreciated Arthur's talent in elements.
Especially after their interactions over these past few months.
The Elemental Power Arthur used from time to time allowed Gu Yue to see his potential.
That Martial Soul was too stunning, even from the perspective of the Silver Dragon King.
If her guess was correct...
Gu Yue speculated that the new element Arthur would master after his Breakthrough to a Four-ring Spirit Ancestor would be the earth element.
The first Four-rings accurately locking onto the four elements of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire pointed straight to the essence, making it impossible for Arthur to waste time on other elements. This was what Gu Yue felt was truly extraordinary about Arthur.
The more she understood Arthur...
The more Gu Yue wanted to recruit him.
If she had such a fine general to assist her in the future, why would she worry about the restoration of the Spirit Beasts?